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Cultural tours vary from tribe to tribe, which means their customs are dif. Tanzania people are among the most welcoming and approachable on earth with, diverse and unique cultures ready to be shared with visitors. Cultural tour allows local people such as Maasai, Hadzabe, and Datoga to educate about their culture, sacred places of worship, and economic activities such as farming, pastoralism, and fishing.
With more than 100 resident tribes in Tanzania there is affluence of local history and complexion to be found in all areas of Tanzania. The entire country communicates via one common vocalization ‘The Swahili language’ though they speak their mother tongue. Cultural tourism is beneficial to everyone, tourists get unforgettable and unique experiences while the local people generate income that improves their standard of living.
The Maasai could be the most known Kenyan tribe outside Kenya especially for tourists. Maasai are more commonly associated with Kenya, but they’ve been a presence around the Ngorongoro Crater of Tanzania for over years and are the area’s residents.
They are predominantly a warrior tribe whose lives revolve around herding cattle and believe that God entrusted the cattle to the Maasai people when the earth and sky split, and wealth is measured in the number of cattles. Since cattle were given to the Maasai, they believe it is okay to steal from other tribes.
The Maasai drink cow’s blood which they believe makes the body stronger and warmer and is good for children and the elderly to build up their strength. It is often drunk mixed with the milk of the cow. An arrow is shot at close range to puncture the jugular vein of the cow. The blood is drawn into a skin gourd and later mixed with milk to be drunk by the gathering.
The animal is not left to bleed but is carefully tended to, till it fully heals. Their rites and traditional ceremonies are taken very seriously, and it is not common to allow outsiders to attend. Elders play a very important role in the community and society at large.
Maasai tribe live in small settlements of huts per village; the kraal (a traditional house or hut) is surrounded by a thorn bush fence, which acts like barbed wire, protecting the tribe and animals against enemies.
The huts are built using branches, twigs, and grass with a cement of cow dung and urine, and inside animal skins and cushions of dry grasses are used for comfort. The mixture is as strong as cement after it dried in the sun and does not smell. Dried cow dung is used to fuel the fire. The family sleeps on beds of woven branches cushioned with dry grasses and animal skins.
They have numerous chores besides building the dung hut, which takes about 7 months. It is their responsibility to milk the cows and fetch water, whatever the distance may be. The Maasai women are also expected to pick calabashes or gourds from vines and clean the insides of the gourds as well as decorate them with leather and beads. A woman is by birth a member of her father’s family line and cannot own land or cattle.
For the boys, fifteen is the coming of age ritual, when they become circumcised and become Morani (young warriors), formally they would hunt a lion with a spear during the rites of passage ceremony but lion hunting is now illegal.
Children of the tribe have importance in rituals like rainmaking during a drought when the children sing for the rain. Playing “sheep and goats” is a common game for children, an equivalent of “cowboys and Indians”. Teenage boys make trouble playing with the cattle and playing “knock down ginger” with a cow replacing the door! They are known for their tradition of hair plaits, heavy iron necklaces, and fierce warrior penmanship often depicted carrying a spear. The Maasai ‘s unique hair is a clear living symbol of their tradition and culture. Wearing the plaits proves the individual is a true Morani sticking to their traditions.
Nowadays, Maasai boost their income by selling beads, masks, and carvings to tourists. Curiously, tourism helps the Maasai to retain and develop the Maasai culture by transforming their beliefs into a business. The ceremonies you will see being performed as a visitor are traditional but they are staged for the tourist audience. It doesn’t destroy the Maasai culture because the tourists don’t change the fundamentals of Maasai living, only observe, whilst helping to rejuvenate centuries-old customs.
Datoga is a skilled farmer and craft people. They are Nilotic and live around Lake Eyasi as well in the semi-arid area of Tanzania. They also live around Mount HANANG which is the 4th highest mountain in Tanzania.
Datoga are also warriors and to prove themselves, the young men kill the enemy of the people as a way of proving themselves. The Datoga practice polygamy and marry outside their clans and their society’s decisions are made by a council of the elder who imposes fines and curses.
They are believed to be highland southern Nilotic who originated from southern Sudan and Ethiopia highlands years ago and migrated to Kenya and Tanzania. Today the Kalenjins from Kenya have similarities with Datoga from Tanzania since they are both southern notes.
Datoga were displaced by the Maasai and moved around Lake Manyara, Lake Eyasi, and some around mount Oldeani after Tanzania Independence
They mark their faces and around the eyes as their identification. They also have earlobes with stretched markings that usually make them identified amongst people of a different culture. Datoga women also have marks on their faces and shoulders which are curved deeply making them visible to other people.
The Datogas always dress similar to the Maasai, but inform of colors of the land they live in. their women wear hides of tradition and pieces of jewelry made from copper, iron, and beads while the married women wear garments which have leather strips.
They keep livestock such as cattle, goats, sheep, and donkeys and they feed from the livestock, and crops they plant such as maize, beans, and millet. They are also farmers and live in a semi-nomadic way of life and men also drink honey beer. They also practice polygamy and marry outside their clan decisions being made by their council of elders. Datoga has similarities with the Maasai of marrying many wives according to the amount of wealth one has, the more you have the more households you get, and vice versa.
Datoga have only seven tribes which include Dajuta, Gisamjanga, Barabaiga, Tsimajeeyiga, Rootiganga, Butaadiiga and Bianjiida. visiting Datoga village is a wonderful experience during a Tanzania safari tour.
The Hadzabe tribe of Tanzania is the last true nomadic tribe of Africa. Zama Tours & Safaris can take you on an amazing adventure with the Hadzas. You will join the men as they hunt for their daily subsidence using traditional bows and arrows, or join the women as they forage for fruits and berries. This is not a show or a “tourist put on”. This is the real deal. A true African cultural experience, not for the faint of heart.
About one hour’s drive southwest of Karatu (on the outskirts of the Ngorongoro Crater), lays Lake Eyasi, one of the rift valley lakes that are situated in Tanzania. It is a shallow seasonal lake that fills with water after rains and subsequently plays host to a myriad of bird species and provides water for the Hadzabe Bushmen tribe.
The Hadzabe are the functioning hunter-gatherers in Africa. Their language is similar to the Southern Africa’s Bushmen who speak the click language and their language is believed to still have clicks and pops like no other “click language” up to the now.
It is believed that years ago the more hostile tribes of the Maasai and Iraqw displaced this small African Bushman tribe from the Ngorongoro Crater and the Crater highland forests and they settled in their present-day land around Lake Eyasi. The tribe is comprised of very few inhabitants of the Lake Eyasi area; estimated at just one thousand. These African Bushmen do not rear cattle or produce farm produce at any time and rely fully on hunting and gathering of fruits and berries for their upkeep.
With their strong bows whose string is made out of giraffe tendons, they can bring down small animals like dik-diks, baboons, monkeys, large and small birds, to large game animals like zebras, giraffes, and buffaloes. The arrows are treated with a poison extracted from a tree well known to them.
Hadzabe men usually forage individually, and during the day usually feed themselves while foraging, and also bring home some honey, fruit, or wild game when available. Women forage in larger parties, and usually bring home berries, baobab fruit, and tubers, depending on availability. Men and women also forage co-operatively for honey and fruit, and at least one adult male will usually accompany a group of foraging women. During the wet season, the diet is composed mostly of honey, some fruit, tubers, and occasional meat.
The contribution of meat to the diet increases in the dry season, when the game becomes concentrated around sources of water. During this time, men often hunt in pairs and spend entire nights lying in wait by waterholes, hoping to shoot animals that approach for a night-time drink, with bows and arrows treated with poison. The poison is made of the branches of the shrub Adenium coetaneous.
One of their ancient skills is how they make fire by rubbing woods together, the Commiphora trees and the Sansaveria tree make a snake bite cure and the aloe vera is used by the African Bushman as a treatment for cut wounds. Baobab fruits are used for making a nice drink.
The Hadzabe Bushmen are said to use only the different stages of the moon to count time. They do not own things other than what they need for survival like the bows and arrows and some pots for cooking. These hospitable tribal men are equal and there is no one superior to the other in their society.
Mawiri Tours & Safaris is amongst one of the leading Tanzania tour operators, offering a wide range of safari tours and adventure travel packages.
Africa is by far the world’s most unique continent and the Tanzania safari excursion makes Tanzania the best destination in Africa, still holding onto its vastly untouched natural beauty.
